For a long time, I genuinely believed my money situation would improve if I just smiled and stayed optimistic enough.

Not strategic. Not intentional. Mostly vibes.

I wasn’t doing nothing —that’s important. I was tracking my spending. I was checking my accounts. I just wasn’t actually engaging with my money. I was watching it, worrying about it, and quietly wishing my circumstances would change without me having to fundamentally change anything else.

If you’ve ever worried about money, you might recognize some of these wishful thinking money habits :

Deleting and re-downloading your banking app in hopes the numbers will look better this time

Tracking every dollar after it was already gone and feeling vaguely virtuous about it

Starting a new spreadsheet—this time color-coded—convinced the formatting would be the breakthrough

Checking your bank balance repeatedly, as if more clarity would appear with enough refreshes

Whispering an affirmation before checking your balance

Rearranging your couch…